Posted on 01/08/2014 1:52:01 PM PST by ZirconEncrustedTweezers
This really shouldn't be a shock to anyone, but for the record, let's just say it's usually a pretty bad idea to set a charcoal fire under your car. A Wisconsin woman did just that, and set her 2007 Dodge Caravan on fire. Even better, she lives in an area named after a burning torch!
The Lac du Flambeau woman was trying to start her minivan in some really awful temperatures, around -23°F, and after removing her battery and warming it indoors (smart), she decided to warm the engine block with a charcoal fire (not smart).
The inevitable fire started with the underside of the bumper, and quickly spread to all the deliciously flammable bits of rubber under the hood and around the engine bay, causing what the local news says is "about $1000" worth of damage. That would total a 2007 Caravan, right?
I kid, I kid! Still, that looks like it's way more than $1000 of damage to me — those plastic bumper covers alone aren't cheap, and it looks like grille, lights, air cleaner, hoses, and a lot more got engulfed in flames. And then there's paint. The news story also referred to the "engine chamber," which has a strangely medieval feel to it as well, so I'm going to take their estimate with a grain of salt.
So, once again, we all know it's cold, and we get desperate — but an open fire under your car is rarely a good idea.
Well, to be fair, it did warm up her minivan.
Dad had a small metal bowl he would burn charcoal in to heat the block.
don’t think someone won’t try to sell car coats... I heard some cars had bra’s already
She won the Darwin?
Bm
Not quite. :)
When I first moved from North Dakota to California for my first job out of college, I remember a mechanic being totally puzzled by a plug which fed out of my front grill.
Even those unreliable 1970s era American cars turned over the first time when unplugged from an engine block heater.
In those days, it was roughly $40 in parts and labor to have one installed.
LOL. This is the first thing I thought when I read the story.
This method works ,but not if done incorrectly.
Better off with a dipstick heater or magnetic oil pan heater.
Better yet, a permanently installed block heater, but that costs money if you can’t install it yourself.
Reminds me of the Hispanic family in MA who wanted to BBQ a whole pig during a monster snow storm [3-footer] ...
Put the charcoal in the bathtub and lit it ...
Old ceramic/steel tub, heated the floor boards underneath and caught on fire ...
Burned down the entire 100-unit complex cuz the fire dept. couldn’t get there cuz they couldn’t get thru the 3 feet of snow on the streets ...
NOT GUILTY!!
I’d hold her beer and watch that anytime.
Traffic accident involvement rates by…gender
Men had a higher risk than women of experiencing a fatal crash, while women had higher rates of involvement in injury crashes and all police-reported crashes.
That would be funny if it wasn’t so tragic.
I figured they’d just go outside, dig the pit, light the fire, through the stones on it, throw the pig in, cover it up, and then come back out in five hours and dig it out of the snow.
That could be fun to do. You have a luau inside while it is a blizzard outside.
I tell you desperate times call for desperate measures.
Cold starts and diesel engines don’t cooperate. Years past has seen it all and done most of it. A tire burning under a 2000 ford offset diesel tractor engine on a cold morning in a snow storm comes to mind but back then plastic wasn’t prevalent tractor flesh.
I use my gas grill in the garage sometimes during the winter. With a winder open of course.
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